Wakefield School Committee candidates debate the issues

Wednesday

Apr 4, 2018 at 10:27 AMApr 4, 2018 at 10:27 AM

By Darrell Halenwakefield@wickedlocal.com

Three of the five candidates running for the School Committee recently participated in a friendly debate where topics ranged from budget increases to school safety and the participants found themselves agreeing on several issues.

Colleen Guida, Susan Veilleux and Robert Vincent each answered a dozen questions during the event, which was taped at WCAT studios on March 29.

This year, two three-year seats on the seven-member School Committee are available.

The election, which will be held Tuesday, April 24, does not feature an incumbent School Committee member on the ballot because Robert Tiro and Kate Morgan are not running for re-election.

When the candidates were asked if Wakefield schools are safe and if there are ways they could be made safer, Guida replied they are safe but the School Department can always make improvements, including to its practices.

In Wakefield, she said, collaboration between safety leaders, school leaders and parents provides a safe network and best practices to keep schools safe.

“I do believe that we need to constantly improve and react to the national tragedies that occur,” said Guida.

It is important, she said, for students to have a trusted adult in the schools they can turn to. Some students struggle with emotional, mental and social illness, she said.

Guida said the community doesn’t need to arm teachers with guns or put metal detectors in schools and that Massachusetts has strong gun violence protection laws.

Vincent concurred that schools are safe, and cited several things, including crisis teams, active shooter response training, and the presence of two school resource officers in local schools.

Veilleux said there may be, based on an assessment of the high school, safety and security issues there. There may be some “open” items that need to be addressed there, she said, that can easily be accomplished with minor investments.

It might be a good idea to do a safety audit at other schools, Veilleux added.

Candidates were asked their thoughts on the Learn Anywhere program for snow days and if spending 20 minutes on each subject by students is equal to a school day.

“There’s mixed feelings about the program,” said Veilleux, who has discussed it with other parents in the community. “And I think there is an opportunity to fine-tune it.”

Veilleux cited her own experience. The program has worked well for one of her two children, but not so well for the other, she said.

Twenty minutes per subject is probably not enough to replicate a school day, and students on Individualized Education Programs are struggling with it, Veilleux said.

“It’s working well for some people, but I do think it’s not working well for everyone, and I think we need to be looking at it more closely,” Veilleux added.

Guida called the program a work in progress, and said that educators and administrators rely on feedback from parents and students.

“I don’t think we should stray away from the program,” Guida said. “We need to press on and improve the program.”

Vincent agreed that the need for feedback is important. School leaders, he said, need feedback on how well the program works before tinkering with it to make it more effective.

“I think it’s too early to tell if it’s an adequate substitute for an actual school day,” he said.

Viewers learned about each candidate’s background through their answers and remarks.

Veilleux, whose professional background is in marketing and high tech, said she’s passionate about public education and has spoken at several School Committee meetings.

“I’ve spent time researching, educating myself on what’s happening in town because I’m genuinely interested in it,” she said.

If elected, Veilleux said, she will actively seek input from other people who have different perspectives than hers.

“I will listen and learn and research and advocate for the things that they tell me are important to them,” Veilleux said. “I will ask questions. I will push for answers and for clarity.”

Guida, a business owner, is a married mother of four children in the public schools. She’s been involved in parent-teacher organizations, and serves on the board of the Wakefield Educational Foundation.

By being involved in schools, Guida said, she has learned a lot about what goes on inside them and how they’re run.

Vincent, a married father of two, is a retired Navy commander and attorney. He is a charter member of the town’s Human Rights Commission and serves on the Bylaw Review Committee.

He said he wants to apply his skills – including in the area of consensus building – to being a School Committee member.

“It would be my honor to serve you and your children on the Wakefield School Committee,” he told viewers.

The candidates were asked if current student activity fees are fair.

Guida said they are, and added that the School Committee – which has worked to lower them – has been moving in the right direction.

“User fees can be quite debilitating to some families and should never be the reason why some students decide to do or not do something,” she said. “But I do believe they need to be charged some fee because not all students participate in some activities after school. For these programs to be successful and continue on, there needs to be a fee attached to them.”

Vincent said the school district’s move to reduce fees opens up opportunities for all students.

Veilleux said she has a slightly different approach and wonders if the $90,000 spent by Wakefield to reduce fees could be spent somewhere else more effectively.

“User fees are necessary, unfortunately, but they should not limit a child’s ability to participate,” said Veilleux, suggesting that a scholarship program might cover some students. “I think there’s a slightly different way you could look at this.”

The candidates were asked if they favor the construction of a new high school.

Veilleux said that Wakefield has been rejected twice by the Massachusetts School Building Authority for funding aid and she noted the long process – months pass between the time an application is filed and when the authority makes its decision.

“The high school project is one of the big reasons why I got into this race,” Veilleux said. “I am incredibly concerned by the fact that we’ve been turned down for funding twice now, and I feel like we need to start thinking about what alternatives there are, if any.”

Veilleux cited several problems at Wakefield Memorial High School, including insulation, safety and ventilation issues, and the need to renovate and update science labs.

“Something has to happen, whether it be a brand new building or renovation. Honestly, I don’t know the answer to that,” she said. “I think there are pros and cons to both of those approaches but I do think we’ve got to do something.”

Guida said Wakefield should continue to submit funding applications to the MSBA and educate residents so that if, and when, funding is received they will be energized for a project – whether it’s renovating or rebuilding the high school to meet student needs.

Vincent said Wakefield needs to do three things: spend money to maintain the high school structure, continue to submit applications annually for MSBA funding, and continue to educate residents on the need for a high school project.

Like the other candidates, Vincent noted that the high school is on accreditation warning status.

The candidates were asked, in light of recent School Department budget increases of more than 4 percent, if they favor a cap on school spending.

Guida said the School Department can’t just spend freely, but she noted that it gets hit with unforeseen and uncontrollable expenses, mostly in the area of special education.

“I know if you take that piece out we would fall within our 4 percent (goal), and we can’t take that piece out,” said Guida, citing legal obligation to provide special education services.

Like Guida, Vincent noted that the state hasn’t provided enough circuit breaker funding as promised and the School Department is faced with circumstances beyond its control.

Veilleux, too, noted that special education expenses have to be covered.

Asked what the school district is doing well and where it could improve, Vincent said it’s transparent and communicates well, and he’s been impressed that school leaders come up with a lot of new initiatives.

“And if they don’t work they tailor them accordingly or they come up with other initiatives,” he said.

Veilleux, however, said transparency and communication can be improved. She also said the district has a strong arts program.

Guida said the district has made great progress in curriculum, and there is a need to work on student social and emotional development with a focus on the early grades.

All the candidates said they would have liked to have played a role in the decision of who will be the next school superintendent. They did so after being asked if new School Committee members should have been given a voice in the selection.

The current superintendent, Kimberly Smith, is retiring in June, and the School Committee is expected to name her successor later this month.

Veilleux said it’s unsettling not to know who she will be working with if elected, but understands that for the School Committee to attract the best candidates and a wide swath of them the process had to start early.

Guida said she has confidence in the search committee, and Vincent said he was impressed that the search process included community involvement.

“I’m confident the process they have undertaken is a very good one, and time was of the essence,” Vincent said.

The near hour-long debate was moderated by William Carroll, the town moderator.

Questions were asked by reporter Mark Sardella of the Wakefield Daily Item and by WCAT Executive Director Tom Stapleton on behalf of the Wakefield Observer.

Candidate Aimee Purcell was unable to participate due to a family commitment, and candidate James Horne did not attend.